Mitsubishi G3M

Mitsubishi G3M
Role Medium bomber
Manufacturer Mitsubishi
Designer Kiro Honjo
First flight July 1935
Introduction 1935
Retired 1945
Primary user Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built 1,048


The Mitsubishi G3M (九六式陸上攻撃機 Kyūroku-shiki rikujō kōgeki-ki: Type 96 Land-based Attack Aircraft "Rikko"; Allied reporting name "Nell") was a Japanese bomber and transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS) during World War II.

Design and development

The G3M has its origins in a specification submitted to the Mitsubishi company from the Imperial Japanese Navy requesting a heavy bomber aircraft with a range figure unprecedented at the time. This principally stemmed from Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's influence in the Naval High Commission on the necessity of a heavy bomber capable of encompassing the enormous ranges of the arenas where Imperial Japan sought to conquer in the years to come, including those outlined in the expansionist Tanaka Memorial – namely China, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Isles and the vast far east of the Soviet Union. The requirement for payload was also unprecedented in Japanese military aviation history, though necessary to accommodate the aerial torpedo envisaged to combat the armoured battleships of the Allies in the geographical broadness of the Pacific front. The speed requirement submitted by the Naval Department was again also unprecedented, not only in Japanese but also in international heavy bomber aviation, where in relation to the envisaged Japanese battlegrounds of China and the Pacific, the bomber would need to not only cover long distances, but necessarily have exceptional speed to strike distant targets with a minimum attack time. Thus the G3M was an embodiment of Japanese military aircraft design in the brief period leading to the Pacific War, with powerful offensive armament (in this case in the form of bombs/torpedoes) and range and speed emphasised over protection and defensive capabilities.

Two G3M2 bombers - the nearest Model 22 and the other a Model 21

In terms of the latter, the G3M was originally designed as a model without any form of defensive weaponry or machine guns, but purely as a bomber craft, with its high-altitude performance being regarded sufficient to evade enemy anti-aircraft guns and its high speed in combination with the planned high performance Mitsubishi A5M fighter envisaged as an armed escort being considered sufficient to counter any form of enemy fighters. Even in the low-speed, low-level role of torpedo bomber, the superior fighter escort – combined with the G3M's high speed – was considered sufficient against any form of ship-based AA guns or carrier-based fighters.

The lightweight structure and complete lack of defensive machine guns and the additional crew necessary to operate them (features in the early prototype design) were considered essential to maintain the speed and high-altitude performance of the G3M with a heavy payload. Even after the modified final prototype, which did include three defensive machine gun emplacements, the G3M kept its lightweight structure and lacked any form of defensive armour or self-sealing fuel tanks, as these were considered to retard speed and altitude. This trait in Japanese bomber/fighter design manifested itself again in its successor, the G4M, which was so heavily designed to accommodate fuel and bombing armament for long-range strikes at the expense of defence that its vulnerability to fighters and ground/surface gunfire earned it the unofficial nickname of "one shot lighter" by Allied fighter pilots, and "Hamaki" ("[flying] cigar") by its own Japanese crews.[1]

The bombsight used in the G3M was primitive compared to the mechanisms used in the G3M's contemporaries such as the B-24 Liberator and Heinkel He 111. Aside from the limited precision necessary in its naval role as a long-range torpedo bomber against Allied naval fleets, the G3M frequently operated with other G3M units in massive "wave" formations, this became a numerical strategy to eliminate the need for singular precision-based bombing.

Later the Nakajima Company redesigned the G3M into the improved G3M3 (Model 23) with more powerful engines and increased fuel capacity. This version was only manufactured by Nakajima, being the most rapidly produced in wartime. This version entered service in 1941, and was maintained in service for two years, and later used in 1943 alongside the G3M2s for long-range maritime reconnaissance with radar, due to its excellent long-range performance. Other G3M derivations were the transport versions, G3M-L and L3Y, the latter built by Yokosuka.

Operational history

The G3M flew for first time in 1935, taking off from a Nagasaki airfield belonging to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and landing at Haneda Airport on the outskirts of Tokyo. The G3M first saw combat in Japan's expansionist campaigns on the Chinese mainland in what became known as the Second Sino-Japanese War, where the G3M was able to exploit its long-range capability when, during August–November 1937, the "1st Rengo Kōkūtai" (a special unit) was established, operating alongside the "Kanoya" and "Kizarazu Kōkūtai" based in Taipei, Formosa, Omura, Kyūshū and Jeju Island. On August 14 of that same year forty-two "Nells" and seven Hiro G2H1s, escorted by 12 Nakajima A4Ns and 12 Mitsubishi A5Ms of the "2nd Rengo Kōkūtai" (a unit consisting of the 12th and 13th Kōkūtai), departed from their bases to cross the East China Sea, for the bombing of Hangchow and Kwanteh, and performed amongst others actions of terror bombing in coastal and inland targets in China, including the bombing during the Battle of Shanghai and Nanjing. Later, from bases in occupied Chinese territories, it took part in the strategic carpet bombing of the Chinese heartland, its combat range being sufficient to cover the elongated distances involved. Most notably, it was involved in the round-the-clock Bombing of Chongqing.

When the Pacific War erupted in 1941, after the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, the G3M was by this time considered to be antiquated but still 3 front-line units (the 22nd to 24th Koku Sentai) were operating a total of 204 G3M2s in four Kōkūtai (Naval Air Corps) in the central Pacific[2] and of these 54 aircraft from the Takao Kōkūtai[3][4] were deployed from Formosa in the opening of the Battle of the Philippines. On the 8th of December 1941, (7th across the International Date Line), G3Ms from the Mihoro Kōkūtai struck Singapore City from bases in occupied Vietnam as one of many air raids during the Battle of Singapore, resulting in thousands of British and Asiatic civilians dead. Wake Island was similarly bombed by G3Ms from the Chitose Kōkūtai on the first day of the war, with both civilian and US Navy infrastructure being heavily damaged on the ground. Other G3Ms of Chitose Kōkūtai, based in Kwajalein island, attacked US Navy and civil installations on Howland Island in same period.

A G3M from the Genzan Kōkūtai as can be seen from the code on the tailplane

The G3M was famous for taking part in the sinking of two British battleships with the more advanced Mitsubishi G4M "Betty", on 10 December 1941. "Nells" from the Genzan Kōkūtai provided important support during the attack on the HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse (Force Z) near the Malayan coast. Prince of Wales and Repulse were the first two battleships ships ever sunk exclusively by air attack while at sea during war.

A G3M of the Mihoro Air Group was involved in a dogfight with a Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat of No. 205 Squadron RAF near the Anambas Islands on 25 December 1941, in which the Catalina was shot down.[5]

The attack on Darwin, Australia on February 19, 1942, by 188 Japanese aircraft, included 27 G3Ms of the 1. Kōkūtai (1st Air Group) based at Ambon, in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The "Nells" attacked alongside 27 G4Ms. These bombers followed an 81-strong first wave of Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters, Aichi D3A dive bombers and Nakajima B5N torpedo bombers.

From 1943, the majority of "Nells" served as glider tugs, aircrew and paratroop trainers and for transporting high-ranking officers and VIPs between metropolitan islands, occupied territories and combat fronts until the end of the war.

Variants

Ka-15
Prototype with either Hiro Type 91 (559 kW/750 hp), Mitsubishi Kinsei 2 (619 kW/830 hp), or Mitsubishi Kinsei 3 (679 kW/910 hp) engines and glass or solid nose, 21 built.
G3M1a/c
Redesignated prototypes powered by Hiro Type 91 or Mitsubishi Kinsei engines, glass nose.
G3M1 Model 11
Land-based attack bomber Navy Type 96 first series model. Major extension of the cabin with a revised cover, some with fixed-pitch propeller, 34 built.
G3M1-L
G3M1 converted into an armed or unarmed military transport version and powered by Mitsubishi Kinsei 45 (802 kW/1,075 hp) engines.
G3M2 Model 21
More powerful engines and increased fuel capacity, dorsal turret. 343 constructed by Mitsubishi, 412 G3M2 and G3M3 manufactured by Nakajima.
G3M2 Model 22
Upper and belly turrets substituted for one upper turret, glass side positions, 238 built.
G3M3 Model 23
More powerful engines and increased fuel capacity for longer range, constructed by Nakajima.
L3Y1 Model 11
Transport Navy Type 96, advanced conversion of G3M1 armed transport, built by Yokosuka.
L3Y2 Model 12
Modification of G3M2 with Mitsubishi Kinsei engines, built by Yokosuka.
Mitsubishi Twin-Engined Transport
Around two dozen G3M2 Model 21 bombers convrted for use by civil operators such as Nippon Koku K.K..
Nippon
One of the Twin Engined Transports converted to carry out a Round the World flight in 1939 on behalf of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.

Operators

 Japan

Postwar

 Indonesia
 People's Republic of China

Specifications (Mitsubishi G3M2 Model 21)

Data from The Mitsubishi G3M "Nell";[2] Imperial Japanese Navy Bombers of World War Two;[6][7]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Popular Culture

The G3M makes an appearance both as prototype (in Ka-8 form) and production model in the Studio Ghibli anime film, The Wind Rises (2013). The designer, Kiro Honjo, also makes appearance as a friend and engineer working at Mitsubishi with the protagonist, Jiro Horikoshi.

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Notes
Bibliography
  • Bridgwater, H.C. and Scott, Peter. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7.
  • Bueschel, Richard M. (1972). Mitsubishi/Nakajima G3M1/2/3, Kusho L3Y1/2 in Japanese Naval Air Service. Canterbury, Kent, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-85045-136-1. 
  • Francillon, PhD., René J. (1969). Imperial Japanese Navy Bombers of World War Two. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Hylton Lacy Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-85064-022-9. 
  • Francillon, PhD., René J. (1979). Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War. London: Putnam and Company. ISBN 978-0-370-30251-5. 
  • Francillon, PhD., René J. (1967). The Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" (Aircraft in Profile Number 160). Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd. OCLC 837728923. 
  • Horodyski, Joseph M. "British Gamble In Asian Waters". Military Heritage, December 2001. Volume 3, No. 3: 68-77 (sinking of the British battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse by Japanese on 10 December 1941 upon U.S. entry into World War II).
  • Shores, Christopher with Brian Cull and Yasuho Izawa. Bloody Shambles. Volume One: The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore. London: Grub Street Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-0-948817-50-2.
  • Thorpe, Donald W. Japanese Naval Air Force Camouflage and Markings World War II. Fallbrook, California; Aero Publishers Inc., 1977. ISBN 0-8168-6587-6. (pbk.) ISBN 0-8168-6583-3. (hc.)

External links

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